


Good End Unlocked

by Yamadori



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa 3: The End of 希望ヶ峰学園 | The End of Kibougamine Gakuen | End of Hope's Peak High School
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-18
Updated: 2016-12-18
Packaged: 2018-09-09 12:18:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8890513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yamadori/pseuds/Yamadori
Summary: In one life, they lost each other. In this one, they have a chance.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [vantas](https://archiveofourown.org/users/vantas/gifts).



> I had to do the second half of this on my phone, so I'm sorry for any typos or other errors. :' D I hope you enjoy, though, Vantas. Merry Christmas!

Hinata Hajime has _really_ bad luck.

Or he probably does, anyway.

Who else has the misfortune of having their soulmate’s first thoughts written on the small of their back…?

Some of his earliest memories of himself are of trying to twist his skinny limbs into knots as he attempted, futilely, to get a look at what’s printed into his skin.

Hinata had asked a few times, usually directed to his mother, what they said. The answer had always been something like, “It’s not important,” and the finality with which the words were said had made him stop asking after a few years.

The first words his soulmate will say are written in a far better location – the back of his knee, which while tricky is not impossible – but they’re so generic that it could be literally anyone.

_“Yeah.”_

Two hiragana. “U” and “n”.

Hundreds upon thousands of people must have said that to him by now. His own _parents_ have said that to him. It could be _anybody_.

The doctors have already talked to his mother and father, too, about how his words aren’t going to warm or light up when he first meets the person he’s supposed to fall in love with. Some erroneous strand of DNA on his father’s side that’s screwing it up or something, Hinata doesn’t know. The last time it got brought up at an appointment, he had to be seven at the very oldest, and heck if he can remember what they were talking about now that it’s been years later.

Generic soulmarks for a generic boy… No one will ever think he’s anything special. Probably not even his soulmate.

His parents don’t expect that much from him, after all. So why should Hinata either?

~.~.~.~

Nanami Chiaki is probably kind of unlucky.

She has the good fortune of having her soulmate’s first thoughts and words in accessible locations – one each on the insides of both of her wrists – but that’s around where her happy coincidences end.

Firstly, the words are very simple and almost anyone could say it. First words: _“Are you okay?”_ First thoughts: _“Man, she’s really cute.”_

Those are both really flattering, of course, but that’s not going to help her figure out who it is.

Secondly, Nanami has been told at doctor’s appointments that she is predisposed for irregular glowing. Which is to say, if she comes across anyone that she’s physically or emotionally attracted to, there’s a good chance that her soulmark will warm up even if that particular person is not her soulmate. And even if she does get lucky enough to encounter her _actual_ soulmate, there’s also a chance the marks won’t react in the slightest.

Nanami buries herself in games most days and tries not to think about it, or how much it might actually upset her if she allows herself to dwell on it.

…Sometimes that makes it worse, though. She’s really awful at dating sims. Sometimes she thinks she’s destined to get the Bad End in her own life, too.

Maybe if she practices enough, though… Maybe, somehow, it can still be okay.

~.~.~.~

Hinata doesn’t expect the girl to crash into him.

…Well. It’s not a crash so much as gentle nudge, a soft impact against his side. Even through all of the layers of clothes between his uniform and hers, she feels… soft. And she’s so small beside him, tiny in a way that’s… that’s really…

There’s a victory chime from the game she’s playing, and her face finally reveals itself from its position pressed against Hinata’s arm. Gasping with her eyes wide open, pink to match her pink hair, and her face flushed with either lack of oxygen or perhaps some excitement over her game, and she’s really, _really_ …

_Man, she’s really cute._

He doesn’t say that out loud. That would be weird and probably inappropriate. So Hinata asks if she’s okay instead, noticing the way she suddenly presses her wrists against herself (he sees a glimmer for a second; a bracelet, maybe), and in a voice that’s even cute she says, “Yeah.”

_Un._

His heart flutters a little. He knows it’s probably impossible that it’s her, but… Hinata would really, _really_ like it if it’s her.

The fluttering turns to twisting in the near future, because he hadn’t been paying attention. Had been too focused on her face and not looking at her uniform. Not recognizing what it _means_.

There’s a bitterness to his smile. Someone like _her_ could never end up with someone like _him_.

It would’ve been really nice if it had been her.

Hinata does not go home to his empty and lonely house, think about Nanami’s Main Course uniform, and cry into his pillow.

This is what he tells himself the next morning, ignoring his damp pillowcase, putting on the Reserve Course uniform he hates, and going out to pretend that everything is okay for the day.

~.~.~.~

Lights flicker across Nanami’s face as she stares at their game in intense concentration. With a quick flick of her wrist, Nanami unleashes a series of combos that render her opponent’s character with no health left. Just as planned, the words “WINNER” flash in the middle of the screen, highlighted in silver and blue.

Hinata swears softly under his breath, but it’s as if he’s doing that for her sake. Like he would be saying it a lot louder, but he’s trying to keep her from hearing.

…That’s just the feeling Nanami gets, anyway. It’s still cute, and it makes her heart beat a little quicker and her face heat up.

She hasn’t told Hinata yet, that the characters lying upon her skin had started to glow mere seconds after they had met. Nanami hasn’t decided if she’s going to or not. There’s no point in getting either of their hopes up. And there’s always the chance that he’s already met his soulmate, or doesn’t have some weird condition like she does and already knows she’s not his. That would just make things awkward and really uncomfortable, and Nanami doesn’t want to do that.

She really likes being around Hinata and spending time with him. She really, _really_ likes him.

Nanami doesn’t want to lose this. She’s never really had friends before, and Hinata makes her feel like it would be okay if they don’t play games together all the time but is still happy to. He treats her like she _matters_. Nanami Chiaki, the person and not the Super High School Level Gamer.

“Hinata-kun. One more round?”

“H-huh?” He looks surprised, even a little flustered. “I… guess so. If you really want to. But isn’t it boring playing against me when you always know you’ll win?”

“No,” she pushes coins into the machine, even paying for his turn amidst the noise of protest he makes. It’s only fair, since she dragged him here. “I like spending time with you.”

…It would be really nice. If he was her soulmate, you know?

But it’s too risky to say anything right now. Maybe one day it will be alright to try, but not as things stand. It’s okay, though, she’ll be okay. Even as it weighs on her heavier every moment she spends around Hinata, she will bury this longing in her heart. For the sake of protecting their friendship, Nanami will do whatever she has to.

(Nanami has dreams that she tells him. Sometimes he kisses her. Sometimes he walks away.)

(The result does not seem to impact the number of times she wakes up with tears.)

“Nanami.” His voice is quiet, not under his breath like before, and Nanami is only barely able to hear him over the blare of the character select music because her hearing is just that good. “…I like spending time with you, too.”

~.~.~.~

Hinata Hajime has no talent.

He is only a background character in the Hope’s Peak Academy that he so admires. So much money poured into a place that will not even acknowledge him beyond the black uniform he’s been granted.

Even before this, before he became a high school student, he has been nothing but a disappointment to his parents. He is never good enough for them.

He will _never be good enough for them_.

Hinata is not worthy of anyone’s recognition. He is not worthy of anyone’s love.

These are thoughts that had upset him, that had left him crying in the privacy of his own home.

The disappointed looks from his parents had been enough to make him nauseous, and sometimes their words would be enough to cause him panic attacks.

On the hospital bed deep in the belly of Hope’s Peak, down where he’s been sequestered away for the project, Hinata can barely feel an echo of those things. He should feel upset, but it’s been dulled by all of the “special tests” and drugs they have him on to make him more prepared. And also more complacent, probably, because distantly Hinata is aware that he might have tried to resist some of this if he were able to care enough to do so.

There’s one bright thought in the middle of all of it, though. One single line of thought that Hinata holds onto, that strangely makes the small of his back and inside of his knee feel warm if he thinks about it for long enough.

_I will become someone that Nanami can be proud of._

_I will become someone worthy of loving my soulmate._

~.~.~.~

One morning, Nanami wakes up screaming. It must be because of a dream, it _has_ to be, because nothing else would make sense.

But all she knows is that she’s screaming, and it’s all she can do to get to the bathroom before she starts throwing up violently.

Eventually the vomiting stops, but Nanami is left trembling and with a migraine that gets progressively worse as time goes on. She goes throughout her daily morning routine with shaking hands, pushing herself to go out even if she really doesn’t want to. It’s a school day, and she promised Hinata that she would see him after class…

_Hinata-kun._ Nanami can’t explain it, but… She feels like things will be better if she can see Hinata at the end of the day. If she can just lean her head on him after a long day, then maybe…

She goes through the motions of her day. It isn’t easy at all – far from it. Yukizome asks her several times if she’s okay, asks her if needs to go home. Nanami mumbles that she’s fine each time, blatantly ignoring the sharp pain throbbing behind her eyes, and counts the minutes until class ends.

Eventually, the bell rings, and Nanami drags herself as quickly as she can out of the classroom and into the courtyard. Her body feels so heavy, but the hope of seeing Hinata keeps her feet light.

She remains hopeful even as the day wears on, and more time passes without seeing Hinata. She tells herself that it’s fine and she’ll see him soon.

Nanami keeps telling herself that, even when the sun goes down.

~.~.~.~

Kamukura has watched her progress through the maze with a clinical interest, distant but somehow drawn to the girl in spite of himself. She should be boring, just like everything else in the world, and yet… And _yet_ …

This is Hinata Hajime’s fault, most likely. There should not be any attachment to Nanami Chiaki, or any semblance of emotion that she brings up. But he still watches and waits.

The moment everything changes is when she reaches her “goal” and is pierced through by sixteen poles.

Kamukura Izuru should not feel anything. This is how he was made to be.

But the pain he feels in his lower back and behind his knee is instantaneous and excruciating. He grunts with the agony of it, having to clutch at the nearest surface he can find. The compulsion to save Nanami Chiaki is just as instantaneous and excruciating.

Ah.

This must mean…

His calculations all point to it. The pain in his soulmarks and the instinctual need to protect and save. There’s only one thing that could mean.

It’s… interesting.

He makes his way to the room that should have been her death chamber. Kamukura can move quickly. Resuscitating her will not be difficult. Nothing ever is for him.

~.~.~.~

Nanami wakes on a bed that she does not know and pain throughout her whole body.

There’s panic, at first, leftover from Enoshima’s death trap. She almost works herself into hyperventilation, fear overtaking the common sense that she’s in the bed and should not be panic-

Then his hand is there. Firm but gentle as it threads through her hair. Hinata’s face has been emotionless since this strange change, but there’s something almost… tender in it now.

“Be still, Nanami Chiaki.”

Her whole body relaxes. The pain is still there, she’s confused, and she doesn’t know what’s happened to Hinata.

But Nanami isn’t afraid anymore. And she feels like eventually, it’s going to be alright.

~.~

 

Once upon a time, Nanami Chiaki died. Once upon a time, Kamukura Izuru watched her die.

This is not that story.

~.~

Hinata is still a little disoriented, but he’s doing much better than when he first woke up on the beach. Going around and talking to his classmates with Komaeda is helping settle his nerves a little.

Things proceed like that, until there’s one person that’s… different.

It’s a girl.

He’s chatting idly with Komaeda as they move towards the hotel when she crashes into his arm.

He can feel her, something soft about her even through their clothes, and focused completely on her game even though he’s pretty sure part of her mouth is blocked by his body. A victory chime goes off - she’s playing Gala Omega, isn’t she? - and she pulls back from him with a gasp and flushed face.

He can’t help the first thought that streaks through his head. _Man, she’s really cute._

Hinata swallows and shoves that to back of his mind. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.”

A strange feeling goes through him. Distantly he registers Komaeda calling his name, but… He can’t think about it right now because this feels… familiar.

“Hey, we… haven’t met before, have we?”

Her mouth parts, surprised, like she wants to say something. But then she shakes her head. “I don’t think so.”

Something in him is disappointed.

There must be something in Hinata’s face that changes, because she gives him a soft smile. “That’s okay. We can change something about that now. I’m Nanami Chiaki, the Super High School Level Gamer.”

He thinks about the generic words printed into his knee, and Hinata’s heart beats a little faster.

~.~.~.~

She likes the expressions that Hinata makes.

Sometimes Nanami will just watch all of the changes in his features as he goes throughout the day. The serious face that he wears most often, sometimes unyielding but always so determined. The flushed face that is one of her favorites, the way he’ll sputter so cutely if she teases him. And the smiling face that she likes the most, so warm and open like you could talk to him about anything.

...He really does have a beautiful smile.

Nanami likes spending time with him. She feels happy and peaceful whenever he’s around, even after the killings start. With him, it feels like everything will be okay somehow.

She doesn’t know why, but… Nanami really likes spending time with him. Even when they’re not talking about games or playing them, she really, _really_ likes spending time with him.

Somehow they’re going to leave. No matter what… She’ll leave this island with Hinata and her classmates.

~.~.~.~

The horror keeps flooding through him as the trial progresses, because he knows. He _knows_ who the “traitor” is - the only one of them that isn’t in despair or whatever.

It’s the one person who's smart enough to figure it out, but not try to save herself.

This is a bad dream. It has to be.

This can’t be reality.

(But it is.)

He watches her smile at him. Trying to comfort him and tell him it’s okay.

That it’s okay if she’s the one that has to go away for everyone else’s sake. And he feels like he’s the one who is dying.

The executions are always so brutal, but he can’t look away, can barely even blink. He has a fragile hope as he watches her and Usami race through the maze, knowing that she’s the only one who could possibly solve it.

But Monokuma doesn’t allow for any culprits to get away.

He watches the resolve on Nanami’s face, watches the block come down to bring her end, and Hinata screams at the blinding pain from his soulmarks and with the knowledge that his soulmate is dead.

~.~.~.~

Nanami is… floating, it feels like. She should be dead, probably, but somehow she’s still able to think and feel.

She thinks about Hinata a lot.

...Nanami wishes that she hadn’t had to die. She’s glad it was her and not everyone else, but…

She really wanted to leave the island with everyone. She… wanted to see everyone again…

_I want to play games with Hinata-kun again._

People who have been killed don’t get a say, though, do they?

She shuts her eyes, more darkness in the dark, and thinks of the way the insides of her wrists burn incessantly.

Nanami wants to laugh so hard she could cry.

But at least she knows who Hinata was to her now.

~.~.~.~

Enoshima’s words send him into a spiral of despair that he shouldn’t be able to get out of. It feels like he’s suffocating under the knowledge of who he is and what he’s done.

He doesn’t want to be Kamukura Izuru. He doesn’t want all this responsibility. It’s not his fault, this isn’t _fair_ -

Hinata should not remember anything. But for some reason he thinks of Nanami and it’s like a key unlocking a door.

She would be so disappointed if she saw him acting so uncool. It’s practically like she’s right there talking to him.

Hinata won’t fall like this. He’ll be someone that Nanami would be proud of.

~.~.~.~

Nanami wakes in water, but she’s not drowning.

She doesn’t know why she’s waking up at all. She should have never woken up again.

Yet.

She does not panic, just blinks curiously at her surroundings - but then there’s a sudden pressure of the water rushing around her, something moving over her head, and hands come out of nowhere to grab onto her. One holds a shoulder and another a wrist.

It makes her realize that she isn’t wearing much or anything, but. That’s okay, because the hands are very gentle and feel very nice.

With a light tug, she’s pulled out of the water.

When her vision clears, Nanami sees that she’s sitting in some kind of… pod? It reminds her of the pods aliens store people in. At least in games, because Nanami doesn’t recall being kidnapped by aliens.

Then the gentle hand from before is tangling in her hair, carefully carding through the strands. There’s a tremble in the fingers, and when she looks at their owner, Nanami sees his expression. Like he can’t believe she’s here and he’s afraid of losing her at any second.

“Hinata-kun.”

Her heart hurts so much, but she’s so happy.

It doesn’t make sense that she’s alive. But if she can see Hinata, it doesn’t matter. She’ll take this second chance.

“Nanami,” his voice shakes, fragile, like it’s a dream and- oh. Oh, one of his eyes are red. “We were in a video game. Did you know that?" He says it in a way that’s so matter of fact, it’s almost laughable, but he sounds so sincere. Hinata is always so upfront about everything; she trusts him, but his earnest honesty would give him away if he ever tried to lie. “You got to be a video game protagonist.”

She grabs the hand in her hair and brings it down to her cheek. Enjoys the way it makes his breath catch and adds a flush to his cheeks. “That’s pretty cool. Even if I got a sad ending.”

“There’s a lot of things I should tell you.” Hinata rubs a thumb along her face, and Nanami leans into it like her whole body is drawn to the contact. “...My soulmarks started burning when you were executed.”

“Oh.” She had known, of course, but it’s different hearing him say it. Confirming it for both of them. “Oh. Yes.”

“There’s other things I need to tell you. And memories I can help you regain, I can do that now. I’ll explain. But I have to say something first.” Hinata presses their foreheads together, and his eyes are wet, but he’s smiling wide like Nanami is the only thing in the world that matters. “Thank you.” 

 

**Author's Note:**

> 1/22/2017: Been a bit busy, but finally fixed this up so my italics would show up properly. :' DDD Also added this to the "All Media Types" tag for DR, so that should make it more accessible also.
> 
> ...I will get to review replies someday, when it's at a decent hour of the day.


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